Adonius booked his ticket to the Breeders' Cup

Adonius books Breeders' Cup ticket for Rebecca Menzies

Horse Racing

Mon October 05, 2026 · 3h ago

Rebecca Menzies enjoyed a winner with her first ever runner in America, speedy juvenile Adonius scoring at Keeneland to earn a return trip to the Breeders' Cup.

Menzies, whose Howe Hills Farm base near Sedgefield is better known for sending out jumps winners on the northern circuit, has held Adonius in the highest regard since he won his first two starts at Musselburgh back in April.

A trip to Chester the following month paid off when landing the Lily Agnes and, after highly commendable seconds to Pershaada and Sale Shark at Goodwood and York respectively on his next two outings, the son of Soldier's Call was back in the groove with a last-gasp victory over five and a half furlongs in Keeneland's Indian Summer Stakes (G3).

Adonius wasn't the best away from the stalls under local legend John Velazquez but he gradually made up ground on the tiring leaders and lunged in the dying strides to get up by a head from Love A Warrior (trained by Steve Asmussen), with George Weaver's Wood Island third and favourite Ruiva, from the Wesley Ward barn, a close fourth.

Sensational result for @RebeccaEMenzies! Adonius kicks in the turbo late at Keeneland to win the Grade 3 Indian Summer under @ljlmvel! pic.twitter.com/f0DVLR1m2f
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 4, 2026

Menzies has her eyes set on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, a race she nominated as a potential target for this horse in the spring.

“I have so many people to say thank you to,” she said. “There’s an absolute army of people at home and here, since we got here, that helped us get him to this stage. It’s our first winner, our first runner abroad, and it’s absolutely magical. It probably won’t sink in for a while. We’ll keep him here now, and on to the Breeders’ Cup.

“He was well backed all day, and I think [all the messages I’m getting are from] his fan club back home. There’s thousands of people behind this horse.

"It's a testament to the owners to say, ‘Let’s roll the dice and bring him here.’ They've been brilliant all the way through and the plan has just been executed beautifully and we had such a smooth prep into this race.

"We were full of confidence with our horse, we just didn’t know what we were going to be up against. It’s absolutely amazing that he pulled it off."

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.

Like what you've read?